NOTES FOR WOMEN

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9619, 27 March 1917, Page 8

NOTES FOR WOMEN

RED CROSS WORK. The secretary of the Women’s Red Cross committee acknowledges goods from the following:—Khandaßah branch British Red Cross, per Mrs Crump, 28 pyjama suits; Wellington Nursing Division, per Mrs W. S. Moorhouse, 4d sots pyjamas and day shirts, etc.; Ohariu ladies, per Mrs Steve Bryant, socks and bundle old linen; Maraehakaho. il-B- gub-centre British Red Cross, hospital garments and bandages; Miss Davidson, treasure-bags; Ladies’ Patriotic Society, Pahiatua, per Miss Hart, 1 large case hospital garments; Mrs Pitts, face cloths; .Red Cross committee. Hunterville, 1 qase; Now Plymouth centre N.Z. branch British Red Cross, 1 largo ease garment*; Hutt Patriotic Guild, 15 flannelette bed jackets, old linen, etc., Mrs Bolding, Pahautanui. face cloths, .jug covers, etc,; Newman, N.Z. branch of British Red Cross, hospital garments; Grmondville centre British Red Cross, pyjamas and shirts. A large quantity of hospital goods have been received from these places and are being steadily sorted daily ready for packing to dispatch to the front or England.

THE SUSAN B. ANTHONY AMBNI> WENT. In An American contemporary,. Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin give* a history of the famous Susan B. Anthony Amendiwnt, to bring which into the American Constitution has long been the dream of Western suffrag-sts. The famous document runs as follows: — (1) The right of citizens of the United States to vole shall not be denied nor abridged by the United Sttaes or by any State on account of sex. (2) The Congress shall have power by appropriate legislation to enforce the provision of this article. ? This amendment has been before th* oountry for forty-eight years, . having been drawn up by Susan B. Anthony in 1869. In that year the conclusion of the American Civil War had forced on. a definite change in the franchise laws, practically opening the door to the adult male population,’ black or white, free-born or slave-born. At this juncture about a hundred feminists who had already been urging women's claims tor twenty years banded themselves together to secure the same law for their sex, and on Hay 15th, 1860, the memorable day when the National Suffrage Union of America first met, th© Susan B. Anthony amendment was adopted by that union.

The advantage of the national suffrage amendment lies in the fact that it limits the task of the suffragists to securing a majority vote in the Legislatures of threeffourtha of the States of ths Union, instead of having to cany on separate campaigns for a referendum vote in every State. It means that campaigning may be concentrated Ul*>» a few hundred legislators In threefourths of the State* instead of upon several hundred thousand voters in each State.

Thirty-six States must ratify the amendment before it becomes a part of tho Constitution. In twelve of these States the eleven equal suffrage State* and Illinois, immediate ratification will undoubtedly be /forthcoming. Fifteen of the remaining States hare within the last few years submitted the question of suffrage to the/ voters, and ft is logical to suppose that a considerable, number of these will approve the national amendment. It is a conservative estimate, therefore, to assume that about half tho States would ratify the Federal amendment without delay, and the suffrage campaign, thereafter would consist in concentrating funds and en. ergy on twelve out of the remaining States. , . , The Susan B. Anthony amendment was first introduced in Congress by a Californian senator in 1878. There had been numerous petitions to tfi© uama effect since 1870. In the thirty-eight years since its. first introduction, it has been presented yearly to ■ Congress, and hearings have been, granted each ee»fioa hr committee*. In 1887 it . was rought before the Senate, and the result was sixteefi yeas and thirty-four nays. In 1914 it was again brought to the Senate By this time eighteen memberc of the Senate represented several million women. This time the vote stood at thirty-five yeas and thirtyfour nays, lacking only eleven of a twothirds majority. At present a tremendous campaign is being carried on from sea to sea in favour of the Federal amendment, instead

of the slow individual method of a State at a time. Since almost one-fourth of the United States is already under equal suffrage, it will be seen what momentum has recently been given to th» movement.

DISCUSSION IN WOMEN'S CLUBS. - The Home Economies Department o* .the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, America, has taken up a number of difficult problems, such as "Baby Week” and the betterment of rural life for women. The following paragraph from the "Ladies’ Home shows how far it is getting on with the perennial cold school lunch question The serving of hot lunches to school children is a subject of interest, aa the adequately served lunch contributes not onlv to the child’s health, but to h>< readiness to learn. . Experiments have been conducted, in some of the large cities, notably Philadelphia, where the experimental stage has been passed; and it 1« believed that the principles applying to the system in large cities are equally applicable in smaller ones or in the rural dietricts. In many places this service is yet in its infancy. The teachers recognising its beneficial effect and seeing the cold lunch brought from home throw* away day after day untouched, are experimenting with it, more often than not using personal funds for the purpose. Sooner or later this service must be absorbed by the public school system, but until this is done we should help the teacher wherever she is struggling with this problem. It is not, ae some have assumed, a charitable move nor Is it s money-making scheme—the onargo lo the children in most cases being a penny, and in no case exceeding the cost of the food, cooking and serving. It is » movement oolely to conserve the welfare of the pupils: and the reports published by those cities that have given it a fair trial, by the Department of Agriculture. and by some of the State agricultural colleges, give sufficient reliable data for «. working basis for any com mnnity.